You may have noticed that in the finale that you heard a lot of, “We can’t let Mark win again!”, “Mark keeps winning everything!” and “The golden child Mark…” You may have also seen a small reference to my Staples Center win that never aired. It is all true! What you did not see is that yes I (or my teams) did win everything. I am holding out hope that the two episodes will air in time and all the details can be made public. There is a clear reason why I was named top of the class! Even without those episodes I am proud of how my work and I appeared. I was very lucky to have had the team I did going into the finale and it paid off for sure!

It was amazing to have the opportunity to be mentored by Michael Berman and to explore the mid-century architecture and design of Palm Springs. We were given the challenge of creating a conceptual design for a classic mid-century property in downtown Palm Springs called The Chase Hotel. The Chase a sight for sure! This poor little hotel had seen better days. To be honest I felt like I had just stepped onto the old set of Golden Girls. The pink knock down plaster walls, the arched doorways, and the tropical textiles on the white washed furniture were such an eye sore. Where to even begin???!

Well, to my surprise they chose to begin by assigning myself and Gianna as team leaders. Go figure they would make us compete against each other again. I was fine with it but I think Gianna felt like she had something to prove. She was not going to have me or my team win one more time…or so she thought. As you all know, Gianna has no problem letting everyone know how she feels. Trust me it got old hearing all the sarcasm about me or my designs but the fact is I did not play into all that drama. I was focused on the task at hand as I did from the start.

Imagine! Gianna, with the win of the coin toss, picks Chris again! Really??? Was Gianna going to ride on the back of Chris’s 3D skills again? Maybe she thought the third time was going to be the charm? With that decision, the cards fell as they did before and we ended up with the exact same teams that we had when we competed for the LAAC rooftop. That was fine with me considering we won! Now Gianna’s team really had something to prove.

We moved forward as we did before. Our team set forward into creating a strong space plan and the other team set forward into arguing over a direction… We apparently had an advantage because we offered up the idea of moving the front desk out into the lobby and the hotel owners loved it. We knew that the other team had not considered it and that was going to work into our favor as long as we had a strong plan and concept.
I may have had the same team as I did for the LAAC rooftop but this time it was definitely going to play out different because I was in charge. We knew from previous experience that we could not rely on Marcia to get the CAD work done in a timely manner and we also knew we didn’t have the time to waste listening to her critique our ideas again while offering up nothing. So that is where I came up with my plan of action! I did not want to offend Marcia nor did I want her to feel like she was being pushed aside but the reality was I knew that Paul, Olivia and I would be far more productive if she was out of the equation… even though the three of us had to go to and from work while knocking this design out.. and Marcia was fully available.

The plan: I created a logo for Marcia to work with. I had her manipulate it and use it to create a letter head and a business card. I also provided her with an image of the hotel so we could create a sort of welcome card with a souvenir post card attached. My thought behind this was that we would be able to offer the hotel a new branding package to move forward with after the success of our renovation. If she got it done it was extra credit but if she didn’t then no loss on our part! Let’s just say it barely got done!

Let me set the scene…OK so Marcia has the one task to work on and the three of us have the whole design project to complete. Here is one example of what we dealt with. Paul and I continue working on all of the renderings while Olivia hits her shift at the bar and Marcia finishes the logo. Paul and I send Marcia to print at Kinkos at approx. 2am and she vanishes for 5 hours only to return with NOTHING! She claimed there was some sort of format issue and she needed to fix it??? Could she not figure it out in her 5 hours at Kinkos? What was she doing? Then instead of working it out she decided to crawl into bed and sleep until noon!!!!! Where on the other hand, my little trooper Olivia who had worked on this project all day before heading to work, returned around three AM still in false lashes… sat herself right back down and went directly to work and never stopped until well after sunrise! This is what the team dynamic was and why I had to take the direction I did.

That all said, we pulled off a great concept and hit Palm Springs ready to steal the show! We rolled into town exhausted with presentation boards still drying. It was a terrible rainy morning and the drive was torcher. To our surprise we arrived only to be rushed directly into presenting to the hotel owners…no chance to capture our thoughts. And once again my team was required to go first. We stepped to the plate and gave another seamless and well thought out presentation that clearly pleased the hotel owners. Our branding package was a clear bonus that set the bar high! Now Gianna’s team not only had the time to watch our presentation they were also given a whole lunch break to think things over before presenting…really? How fare was that?
Fast forward and after seeing what seemed to be a replay of their LAAC presentation it was clear that Gianna’s team took the exact same approach again. It was all about Chris’s wonderful 3D skills. What did the others do while Chris did all the work??? Long story short it did not bode well for them. The hotel owner decided that if they had to choose they would choose my team but in this case they didn’t have to choose and they wanted us to all work together… They wanted to incorporate a couple of the other team’s elements…WTF?! I was then made project manager over everyone. For good or bad I was now in charge.

I did my best to keep a clear plan and also give my other classmates a chance to pair up with people they have not had the chance to work with before. This was our last chance to all come together. A very long story short, we had a ridiculous short time frame to shop consignment stores in hope of finding furniture pieces that would work and pull off this renovation. Against all odds and having a not totally motivated team…we did it! The renovation was beautiful! The hotel owners were brought to tears and we all came together as one in the end.



I walk away from this experience as more than just the top of the class and the winner of every instillation. I walk away from the Superlab as a better designer. I walk away a better team player. I am proud to say I walk away feeling like I represented myself well and offered the best work I could. I did my best to stay out of the drama and at no point needed to talk crap on camera about others to make myself feel better… It was amazing to have the opportunity to work with such dedicated and hardworking people. I will cherish the relationships I have built through this crazy experience.

Designed with love,
Mark

Designed with love,
Mark

OK, so even I can lose it when pushed! But, in this case it was MORE than warranted. If you tuned in this week you would have seen the absolutely crazy task that was at hand. We were given the project of designing a whole house (inside and out!) using the modern day software called 3D Studio Max. We had Mr. Roy yet again as a guest instructor and wait for it… Yes, go figure James Saavedra was our client for his assignment. Ok, I like the guy but doesn’t FIDM have any other alum???

We were split into two teams. It was I with Chris, Gianna, and Olivia and the other team was Paul, Danny, Ashleigh, and Marcia. I was VERY excited to finally have a chance to work with both Chris and Gianna. For one Chris was the ONLY cast member who had any experience with 3D Max and Gianna is known for having some real talent with digital media. Both Olivia and I had not been at FIDM long enough to have taken the digital media classes needed for this project. We definitely had a huge advantage going into this one.

I did not envy the other team at all. Danny, the brave sole, took on the task of handling the entire 3D element of this project. Considering Mr. Roy only gave us about a 30min overview and then we were set free to design, this was not going to be an easy task if possible at all! Plus he did have Marcia on his team… enough said right?!

Well, let’s cut to the chase on this one. We heard over and over, “in the real world”… Let’s get real!!!! We were given a 30 minute over view of the software and expected to complete this entire house in less than three days. In fact and “in the real world” the 3D Studio Max class at FIDM would be a full quarter of 10 classes consisting of 2 hours and 45 minutes of instruction a week. At the end of this approximately 30 hours of training the final exam/assignment would be the completion of one single room. What we were expected to do was NOTHING like in the real world.

Let’s address the lack of internet we faced. Considering we need the internet to do every aspect of this project we were at a standstill! There was no way we were going to be able to accomplish the deadline no matter how hard we worked at it. I was serious when I said, “I am working with some of the most talented people from FIDM and if we can’t do it, than it can’t be done!” When Mr. Roy chose to chastise all of us and school us on the “real world” I had enough! In the real world, if you know it could take 2 weeks you quote 3 because there is always the margin for error/issues. As for his comments that in his experience students just don’t work hard enough… he needed to pay closer attention to what we had been doing. We had not rested our heads on a pillow in days. As we wrapped each day and he went home to bed while we continued our endless efforts.
I felt someone had to come to the defense of the students. At this point it really felt like no-one had our backs. Oh and Marcia, the “come on Mark grow up” comment was laughable. Girl, do you feel the noose tightening yet? Remember we all know how this plays out! You may want to look up the definition of “grown up”, maybe your boyfriend has a dictionary laying around his place somewhere.

Regardless of all the drama I really loved working with my team. Our design was beautiful and a total collaboration of ideas. Chris stepped to the plate for sure! One of my only regrets with Design School is that I did not have more opportunities to partner with Chris. Once you get past the surface, Chris is a multi-faceted person whose talents are endless. There is still much to come from this special young man!
Now James, dear James, gave us a chance to re-sell our design for a higher grade. We were specifically told not to re-pitch our design as James had just seen them. My team had already been given an A- from James that had only been lowered to a B- because of the antics of Mr. Roy. The only place it seemed we fell short was in the areas where we ran out of time IE: the lack of color in the bath and the bedroom esthetics. We had provided everything James asked for and far more than we ever thought we could have accomplished in such a short time frame! My team rocked it and I LOVE them!!!!
Stay tuned for more!
Designed with love,
Mark Griffin

A room with a view! A new Design School episode has come and gone. Set in the LA Mart Design Center, we were given the challenge of creating window vignettes for a couple of their most popular showrooms. To start off this project we were graced with the presence of James Saavedra , yet again.

We were put into teams of two. We had Myself and Danny, Paul and Olivia, Chris and Ashleigh, and yes that left Gianna with Marcia. I for one was very happy to have the chance to work with Danny Luna. We had not had a single class together at FIDM nor have I really heard anything about him outside of the Superlab. In such a fast paced and intense Interior Design program like FIDMs, we don’t always get the chance to cross paths. I knew he had to have something great to offer having been selected for this class and from what I had seen so far he appeared to be a creative and friendly guy.

It became very clear as soon as we started that my feeling was correct. Danny was a great person to partner with. He and I seemed to be on the same page right from the start. Danny offered up great ideas and was equally open to my suggestions. In the world of design it can be a huge challenge to share in a single vision but with Danny and I it was a non-issue.

We took the task at hand and the large wooden boot we were given and hit the show room. We new our story line and had specific items in mind. I can honestly say this was the least stressful project of the Design School season. Was it the project? Was it my partner? I would say it was both!

After seeing the other spaces and hearing the feedback from James, I did not agree with the grading. I thought our space was well thought out and the best designed. It told a clear story and very much represented the feel of the Haptor Barrett showroom. I do see where there was opportunities for a small improvement but working within the “reality” of the space we were given, it was a wonderful design. Maybe if I had seen Gianna’s and Marcia’s in person I might feel different…

Stay tuned and enjoy all the drama! TRUST, there is much more to come!

Designed with love!

Mark Griffin

So espisode three arrived in “Full Color” and WOW what drama!

We began our third task at the OC campus early in the morning and what was the first thing I heard but a few of my castmates bitching about the drive to get there… REALLY PEOPLE??? Seeing that this was the one and only project being held in the OC, you would think they would just role with it. I mean really you guys I make the commute every single time we film.

We were greeted by our dear leader Dina Morgan, the Chair of the FIDM Interior Design department. As we entered the campus it was brought to out attention that our project was going to revolve around color and where better to be inspired than the electric pink OC campus.

The long story short we were given a brief lecture on color theory and advised we would be working as individuals. Go figure those who were the most excited to work alone are the last people anyone would want to work with anyways.

So the task now begins! We are set free for two brief hours in the Los Angeles PDC to run around and memo as many items as we can that will fit our color sceme. It was a challenge for sure as I was given red analogous and with that my choice is to either go the direction of orange or violet. Hmmmm red and purple? Yuck! I knew orange was my best option and off I went on my hunt.

That left myself an Ashleigh shopping for the same color. My strategy had to be, stay one step ahead of Ash and memo all the options I could. Remember she is the one who said, “I look at this as everyone is out for themselves”… Do you think she wouldn’t have done the same? And really there was not a whole lot of orange in the first place.

Fast forward to the designs… Everyone completes their 6×6 corners and Dina begins her critique. Or should I say Marcia does! Marcia was not holding anything back…imagine!!? Marcia to every opportunity to subject us (and you) to her opinion. Even after the head of everything Interior at FIDM, Dina gave Gianne an “A” Marcia still proceded to rip the design apart. I wonder who was more offended, Gianna or Dina?

Poor Danny:-( He not only got torn down by Dina which I did not necessarily, but them Marcia went and pull what little rug was left right out from under him! She of all people should have been more sympathetic considering she was shopping with him and saw the struggle he had finding the right shades of green.

Well it came full circle for dear Marcia. She designed and critiqued her way into one crazy corner. Remember those who live in glass houses…? Marcias corner was in Gianna’s word a leprechaun mess. You can see by Dina’s expression…it says it all!

I on the other hand ducked the Marcia bullet! Both Dina and Marcia and nothing but good things to say about my space and I received a clean “A”. Yet Marcia took my moment to shine as yet another opportunity to get one last dig at Gianna. Will the girls ever stop?! You will have to stay tuned and see.

Stay tuned for next week when I get my first chance to partner with one of the guys. Who you ask? Just wait and see:-)

Designed with love!

Mark

Keep you eyes on my HGTV Design School blog entries! Find out how I feel about what was said and done. Get some insight as to what really happened behind the scenes!

Hello again!
OK, so episode two just past and what an adventure!!!

Yes, Olivia and I were teamed up to design for our celebrity client Lamar Odom. What a great opportunity! This project was one crazy undertaking… To design a chair for someone who is 6’10″ let alone do it with the time restraints we were given was crazy!

I must say that as much as Olivia and I make a great team, neither of us were very happy about being teamed up on this one. Yes we both live in the OC but we live a 40 minute drive from each other and I work until 10-11pm and she works until 2am…not exactly the best circumstance to get the job done. We did whatever it took and that meant not sleeping at all…trully NOT AT ALL! Livers (Olivia) as we like to call her is the best partner you could ask for in a tough situation. She is hard working in everything she does and is right there when you need her. We made the best of the situation and boy did it pay off!

I want to give credit where credit is due… The chair design was Olivia’s concept from the start and we developed it from there. We worked together from concept to manufacturing. Our manufacturer Lilly Jack furniture did an amazing job of executing our design. Our “A” was well deserved if I say so myself.

Now for Gianna’s break down… She got off easy on this one! It was waaaay more of a scene than it appeared. But what the show doesn’t let you in on was that the manufacturing process took a good amount of time and we were all a bit beat down by the time the grades came. It does not excuse the reaction or the fact the designed may have been flawed but it does explain the emotion… We all handle pressure in different ways for the good or bad!

Oh Marcia Marcia Marcia… Yes she is all she has portrayed herself to be… Chris was a very patient man in this one! It takes some nerve for her to take responsibility for everything that had to do with the design and implementation of their chair. Trust Chris had plenty to do with the process. She will stop at nothing to be heard if you haven’t figured that out by now. I guess every show needs at least one Marcia!

Oh soooo much more to come! Tell all your friends to tune into HGTVs Design School Fridays!

Designed with love!

Mark

Hello all and welcome to my HGTV “Design School” blog! The FIDM Superlab has hit your TV screens and I am ready to let you all in on what it was really like to be a part of this crazy adventure. Juggling work, school, and my family life has been overwhelming but then to be tossed into a new reality show…I really tested my limits! Tune in and see all the intense challenges and the many lessons learned. I will be giving insight to what actually transpired and letting you all know what I really think of what my cast mates did and said. Stay tuned and set those DVRs!

See all the photos here.